s numerous in the areas
lying along the river courses as were springbucks on the upland
southern plains.

Shooting stories are proverbially as unreliable as fishing ones. I have
hitherto avoided relating my own slaying experiences. They do not, I
suppose, differ from those of other men who followed big game in the
days when rifles had not reached anything like their present pitch of
deadly perfection. I think, however, that every old hunter might tell
of things he has seen which would be interesting enough if he only
could get people to believe them. Personally I could relate some which,
although literally true, are so grossly improbable that I candidly
confess I would not believe them myself had I not seen them happen.

I will give a specimen of these Munchausen-like anecdotes, just to show
the reader how well-advised I have been in suppressing the series. On
one occasion, when camped about ten miles from Ship Mountain, one of my
friends among the Balala [Landless and weaponless waifs who wander over
uninhabited tracts. Lit., "people who are dead."] came in to report
that a very fine tsessaby bull was to be found in a kloof some four
miles away. The meat of the tsessaby is more delicious than that of any
other game, so I went forth without delay. My gun was a double-barreled
one, the left barrel taking a Snider cartridge and the right a
cartridge with a round bullet, only to be used at close quarters.

Before I had gone five hundred yards from the camp I noticed two very
large blue wildebeest bulls on my left. They were not more than two
hundred and fifty yards away. According to all precedent they should
have decamped at once. Instead of doing this, however, they kept a
course more or less parallel to mine. Suddenly, however, they turned
and came towards me in a most threatening manner, so much so that my
Balala companion climbed into a tree and I laid myself prone behind an
ant-hill, covering the leading animal with my rifle. They, stood at a
distance of about eighty yards. I fired, hitting the leader just where
the neck sank into the chest; he fell dead.

The other wildebeest ran away for about fifty yards; then he wheeled
round and stood facing me. Just as I was about to fire he turned and
stood broadside on, gazing at the carcass of his mate. I fired, aiming
just behind the shoulder. The bullet "klopped" hard. The animal reeled,
ran about fifty yards to my right, and once more stood, again broadside
on. Again