I turned round and fired, but having to cling to the
tree, I had great difficulty in taking aim. The effect of the report
was to bring the whole herd to a halt, and, facing round, they
confronted us in one dark and formidable phalanx, as if they had
resolved to besiege us in our tree. I remembered the way you, Andrew,
had been caught by the elephant, and I fancied that the buffaloes were
about to treat us in the same manner. One or two buffaloes might have
been disposed of, but we had not ammunition sufficient to kill one half
of our assailants, even should each bullet lay one low. They kept
looking at us with savage glances, as if determined to punish us for our
audacity. They looked, indeed, as if they could very easily have
brought the tree in which we were perched down to the ground; and so
they might, if they had known how to do it. I, however, resolved to try
the effect of a few shots. I fired one, and felt sure I had hit the
animal--a large bull--but he did not move. Again and again I fired,
but, strange as it may seem, neither he nor any of the herd moved a
foot, though they eyed me and my companion all the time with an ominous
look, as if resolving how they should treat us. Every moment I expected
them to charge. Suddenly, as I was about to fire for the fourth or
fifth time, the whole herd, wheeling about with a curious shriek rather
than a bellow, their heads lowered to the ground, and their tails
swishing to and fro vehemently over their backs, off they set at a
furious pace, which made the very ground tremble under their feet.
Mango and I were left to follow them if we chose, or return to camp. We
did the latter. I must confess I felt somewhat ashamed of my want of
success when I resumed my seat by the fire. I consoled myself, however,
with a couple of pigeons which Igubo had in the meantime roasted.
Though we saw vast quantities of game of all sorts, we were equally
unsuccessful, and at length I proposed to return, when Igubo pointed out
some smoke rising over a belt of forest which appeared before us. He
said that he was sure it arose from a native village, and as I was
anxious to make the acquaintance of our neighbours, I resolved to push
forward and visit them. I sent Igubo on ahead to win the confidence of
the people by showing them that he was unarmed. He soon made a signal
to us to come on, and I found him and the chief man apparently on the
most friendly terms. The chief, a remarkabl