ng, he
saves himself great part of the journey. The half of the buck would be
an ample reward for the service of an additional man; and the venison is
thus sent home, while the pony is saddled, and the sport again proceeded
with.

During the first fortnight that I was engaged at this sport I shot only
three bucks, although out eight times, and having several fair shots
each day. I thought that I was bewitched, and had suddenly an attack of
the crooked eye; but, upon mentioning in confidence to a friend, Major
K--(as perfect a gentleman and gallant a sportsman as ever trod on
African soil), what had happened, he told me that very probably I had
wounded many more of these animals, but that they had dropped when out
of sight. He proposed going out with me one day, an offer that I was
delighted to accept;--and I may here mention that many of my earliest
and best instructions were received from him. When riding a few hundred
yards from Major K--, I fired at a fine ram reitbok, that got up about
fifty yards in advance. I thought I saw a little lurch in his action as
the bullet went by; but, not observing any other sign, I remained for an
instant quite still. Major K--then called out, "After him," with which
direction I complied, and followed in the buck's wake for fully half a
mile. He seemed to be going quite comfortably, and I began to think
there was no use in thus pursuing, when he stopped and looked at me. I
jumped off my horse, and was quickly on the ground; but the buck was
down first. I ran up to him, and found that my bullet had entered the
back without touching the bone or principal muscles, had passed through
his body, and come out in the breast; he was bleeding at the mouth, and
lay quite dead. Major K--, on coming up, told me that this apparent
toughness as regarded life was, during his experience, by no means an
uncommon thing. The secret of the crooked eye was now explained, and I
afterwards made a practice of watching for a considerable time bucks
that I had fired at, unless I was perfectly certain that I had missed
them. So tough were some of these reitbok, that a gentleman once told
me that he thought, after the first bullet, all others seemed to do them
good. It was not quite as bad as this, although the following instance
that happened to myself may give an idea of their tenacity of life.

I sighted a buck, and saw him lie down in some long grass. Leaving my
pony at some distance, I stalked