Show 4 f u1iING BIG GiM1fl1ir1 i t l I m atam omp Hunting the Dangerous African Buffalo By H A Bryden 111 1 lliytlcn the iuatttlinr with Percy Selou S of Tiavcl and Ilig flame Is i a titan irho irai born to the chase From hit youth il l has Icon hi r rnlini passion and he has gone with his rile alt over the iroild In even conlinrnl t Iris t fume a a Nimrod is i known and he has a modest mod-est direct style of presenting MS adventures tinged with a little touch of poetic sentiment here and theic which is very pleasing Indeed If any fault at all could be found irilh him it would be that he WOK overmodest and inclined to boast i for other instead in-stead of telling his own story N Incident highly indicative in-dicative of the extraordinarily ex-traordinarily dmiROi A ous character of the African buffalo Is 10 lated hy Mr Ainsley Williams the gentleman gentle-man scout of ho famous fa-mous Niger watershed water-shed exploring party 1 had missed him float his ac ouatomed stations and on his ic appearance he was generally bandaged ban-daged UP and one leg was ID splints It appears that one late afternoon after-noon when the shadows In the brush wore growing to tho point of almost complete darkness though the sun still illuminated the tops of the trees ho was returning to camp alone save for a Senegamblan gun bearer noted for his bravery Both were mounted on native ponies wiry and keen of senses Suddenly Williams pony began be-gan to snuffle and snort and both stood stock still refusing to advance Into the darkness of the foliage arched trail Williams illicitly un clung a double barrelled ten gauge Parker with which he had been after fowl He meant to clip In a buck shot cartridge but before he more than had his gun across his pommel with a grunting bellow the huge form of an old bull buffalo rushed out of the darkness ahead and charged the two with all ferocity It was Impossible to turn out of his way and all that Williams could do was to lean forward and pull both barrels point blank Tho massive horns and frontal bones must have shielded the beast from any Injury savo enough to Infuriate It more than ever The next instant Williams pony was disemboweled with a sideswipe side-swipe of the bullH horns and the rider was pitched Into the brush with a broken log On over tho dying pony rushed the buffalo and his charge drove the second pony end over end on top of his Senegamblan rider The two rifles ho carried flew Into the brush and one fell near Will lams It was the Winchester forty four Williams dragged himself over to it and found It uninjured but a tragedy wan transpiring meanwhile Giving the por gun bearer no chunco for his life tho bull swept first one tip of his mighty horns and then the other Into tho jumblo of horm and man and in his blind fury knelt on thorn and stamped on them ThIs happened in the fraction of a minute of course and was terminated only when Williams mustering all his strength rose to his knees and began pumping sofl hosed pellets Into tho bulls flank raking him forward Into vital parts Tho murderous creature fell on top of his victims and when searchers attracted by Williams cries found them horse bull and Sonegamblan lay dead In one heap I Most Dangerous Game in Africa It Is agreed upon all hands by experienced ex-perienced hunters In Africa that the buffalo IB ono of the three most dangerous dan-gerous four footed foes that man can attack Most men class this animal with elephants and lions as game that requires the highest attributes of skill courage and caution to bring to bag As a matter of fact It may be laid down that moro deaths and dangerous accidents happen annually in Africa In hunting tho buffalo tnan In the chase of any other species of heavy game In regions whoro largo numbers num-bers of these splendid beasts still wan tier In troops of three hundred four hundred and even moro and where they hue been little dlstirbed tho I hunter has no great dllllcully in shoot hug as mini as ho requires In fairly open country where scutered covert exists and whore they t can bo readily approached I for tin t y are by no moans Iiot keensighted cientitiesu man may ho begins to think shoot ImfTaloeu us easily us he ran shoot oxen nut directly n buffalo Is uuiitlcil and his blood spoor linn to he taken up and the hunter has to follow him into the dense coverts to which ho retreats the business Is entirely changed Then you may prepare to lo k out for yourself your-self to take up your heaviest and most rollablo weapon and to follow the alert your elite than uvury sense aleit ami our illlo handy for an hihtnnt and most deadly ciiurge You will find too thai the native I unooror who trotted In front of you readily enough on tho blood spoor of elephant and oven lion will now greatly prefer to follow In our rear and leave you to take up your own person tho first and dangerous risk In the dark and shadowy thickets Into which you an advancing lie knows none better the dark evil fury and the lurking nolsulesp ways of the beast of which you are In search The buffalo so soon as ho Is wounded seems Indeed to think of little else than a bloody revenge I nllke most other game which when wounded will almost Invailahly ltako i ticin selves In flight as far from the pursuer pur-suer as possible ho usually retreats borne distance Into I the densest bush and then cither hides up in come dark corner where the shadows are deep and dense or ti ruing upon his line takes a parallel path back and so waits for his foe or he will even follow back upon his own spoor and conceal himself Sometimes ho will stand lurking amid the dark thickets at another time if badly wounded he will lie down In either case prepared pre-pared and determined to Inflict a bloody revenge for the arts under which ho is snmiting Year after year fatal accidents happen In Soutu African buffalo hunting year after year men if not killed outright are terribly mauled and until the buffalo Is completely exterminated ho will be found as savage and as dangerous as the lion himself and withal far more revengeful Stalking a Buffalo Herd I cannot better Illustrate the character char-acter of these determined and plucky animals than by an adventure narrated nar-rated to mo not long since In the huntIng hunt-Ing veldt by a Boer hunter from the Transvaal Ho had been tracking with some other compatriots for to the northwest of Lake Ngaml Flesh was badly wanted In camp and as tsotso lly was prevalent In tho marshy country north of the Okanan go river on which they were out spanned and the natives reported large herds of buffaloes ho left IIIB horses behind him fefrlcj across tho river and spent tho next two days in hunting He had with him his own Hottentot servant a good and reliable hunter and a fair shot and ho had as well several natives of tho dlstlct who were anxious for meat and ready to show him tho game On the first day the Dutchman came across somo fifty buffaloes grazing In fairly open veldt Getting behind sonic good and convenient covert and with the wind In tho right direction he had little difficulty in shooting two fat cows and a young fresh bull Tho cows wore pretty easily secured but the young bull although shot through the lungs jumped on his logs from some long grass and bush then walked up charged fiercely at the spooring party and was only killed within n few foot of the hunter The I rest of tho tiny was spent In Hklnnlng mid cutting up the game Part nf tho native were sent back to tho floor camp lacliii with as much moat as thoy could 1 earrtho Uoera requiring not obi flesh meat for Immodinto UHO but enough to make a supply of biltong salted stn dried Mesh the rumulndei of the Ilcsh was bestowed upon the native vIllagers who ro v Hli the expedition Law numbers of buffaloes were still polled I a little further ahead among the lagoons and marshes of this region and the Dutch hunter therefore camped for the night ato n loo supper by the oaring t lire and Hlept soundly till early dawn Before sunup the party wero again stirring In less than two hours time the na tIes had led tho way to a broad marshy lagoon or viol as the Boers call it surrounded by drier ground upon which grow bush ncucla trees and a few lull palms Part of this lagoon was shallow open water the remainder consists of a dense bed of tall reeds which led to further swamps and lagoons beyond The sight that met the DntchmanH eyes as he and the natives crept cautiously towards the edge of tho viol and surveyed sur-veyed the scene from behind a ncrcen of bush was a wonderful one In and about tho viol stood a troop of not less than two hundred buffaloes homo rolling In the shallow sonic drinking some standing bellydcap In water dark and motionless The buffalo birds a species of starling Buphaya Afrlcana those watchful allies of these anlmnla and rhinoceroses were flying hither and thither many of them packing and feeding on the ticks and parasites which Infest the buffalo buf-falo A number of small white herons too wero about the viol some of which were also to be peon actually perching on the broad backs of the great game In any case tho stalk re qulcd caution and with these watchful watch-ful buffelogel about extreme care was us tho Hoer saw essential Concealed Con-cealed behind a thick mass of bush to which he and the Hottentot had crept the Dutchman waited patiently till the troop moved and a fair shot offered Attacked by an Enraged Buffalo At last several fat cows for which ho had been waiting came together with a tremendous old bull within 30 yards Selecting tho best cow the hoer aimed behind the point of the shoulder and brought her down She foil Instantly to the shot struggled a little further and soon lay dead Tho Boer had hoped and expected to bring down another cow Ills Intentions wero frustrated however by the bull which charged upon the Instant directly direct-ly towards the rifle smoke Within ten yards the Dutchman who was kneeling 1 fired again hitting tho grim beast In front of the chest and turnIng turn-Ing it Meanwhile at the ound of the firing the whole imnonso herd floundered out of tho viol and went off crushing through an anglo of the reed beds and thence far Into the bush As they fled tjio Boor shoved in another cartridge took aim at a retreating cow eighty yards off and by a lucky shot broke her back Sho foil bellowing and was quickly dispatched dis-patched Leaving tho natives to skin and cut up these carcasses tho Dutchman now took up tho pursuit of the wounded bull which ho had marked In his flight through a dense patch of reeds to tho fight of tho lagoon la-goon The beast had turned of mono and tho greatest caro had to bo taken In following It through such covert But the Dutchman had hitherto always al-ways had great luck with buffalo and was determined to finish off his I task As soon as tine leeds were leaehod the blood spoor was easily to bo followed Tho heavy bullet hail oldentl y inked the limns the bull was bleeding freely and law patches of crimson marked Its path The reeds were very tall tweho or fourteen foot and thick and I the spooning seemed so dangerous an operation that tho Hottentot who wns carrying a second una Martini Henry fell behind leaving his master to take tho list risk with his heavy eightbora At every step thoy were wading Imo deep 1 hi wntorthe hunters stopped to listen Tlicy had not tune etrhttallllttyl lhetovt etrated llfty iirds through the avenue of broken reeds afforded by the paws age of the bull when In an Instant and without warning tho beast was upon knockel flat upon his back by the charge the bull had miscalculated his distance had no doubt charged for the bound and had hit nose which was held high as Is the habit of these brutes when charging Galloping over tho prostruto Boer the Buffalo went straight for the Hotten tot It Cow paces behind This unfortunate innate the brute struck with his horn and tossed on ono side some yards Into the reeds Then continuing Its I career the bull passed on out of the viol and took shelter In somo thin bush whom It wan afterward found dead Tho Boer nil the wind knocked out of him and severely bruised picked himself up retrieved his rifle which was flung yards away and then sought the Hottentot The unfortunate servant lay among the roods and water It terrible wound gaping just below his chest to the loft breathing his last He lived only a short time and died a pathetic and unwilling object ob-ject lesson In the risks and dangers of following a wounded buffalo Into thick covert Some Perils of BuffaloHunting Occasionally hunters have been attacked at-tacked by a solitary buffalo which has charged thorn before a shot has been fired and wIthout apparent provoca m r z l i 4 ii f s N1r I l t 1 y r llr 4 I ONE WILD LUNGE LIFTED HORSE AND RIDER FROM THE GROUND tlon In such Instances it has usually been found either that the animal had been previously wounded by Home other hunter or had been clawed by n lion in either case its naturally morose temper having been rendered yet mOle dangerous No hunter ought to attempt to tackle a buffalo with a rifle of lighter calibre titan a G77 double express Once plentiful all over Southern Africa Af-rica wherever water was to be found tho buffalo has now to bo sought far In the interior There Is one singular exception to this statement Many years ago tho Cape government passed an act protecting under so vwe penalties the buffalo as well as tine elephant In Capo colony In the forest and densely bushed regions bordering the coast line somo strong troops of buffaloes are ctlll to bo found between Mosscl bay and tho Kovvlo river A fow years ago during dur-ing a great drought some of those fine beasts wero to be seen drinking In the river within a fow miles of tho town of Ultenhagc Thcso animals can only be shot In Cape colony by a special permit from tho governor and on payment of the sum of ten pounds for each specimen obtained Beyond Capo colony tho sportsman has to travel nowadays several hundred miles before he can hope to find buffalo buf-falo Perhaps the best country existing exist-ing at tho present tlmo It tho low and unhealthy region lying In Portuguese territory between the Sabl and Zam Leah Upon the Bust and Punguo < < = r rivers mid their tributaries anti nbont the tributaries of tho Zambesi e + nits n-Its easterly course largo herds ot buffalo are stilt to ho found This country howover Is only accessible i during the African winter April to I Oetoboi unless the risk of deadly 1 fever be taken Thorn are utlll buff lo to be found to about tine Chobe liver In Ito far off swamps and miirMlies of the tipper OInvan In + hoar regions the tsetse fly IH ceitnin to be found In tho buffaloes haunt t and the hunter must peifuico do all his work on foot C As the African buffalo is ono of tho tougheut and must difficult of all game animals to bring to hag so that handsome hand-some creature Burchells zebra ICquus Burchelll the zebra of the l plains Is by far line most easily do alloyed A Dingle 450 Express or MarI lintHenry Mar-I l bullet will at once turn this Meet and handsome animal of the troop an easy victim If not u oadr killed outright to tho hunters noxt nhot With a broken leg tho zebra IB Instantly helpless with a broken limb and a shot through the body to boot one of tho larger African antelopes an-telopes such as a hartebeeat or brindled brin-dled gnu will often run for miles and finally cscapo tho hunter altogether AH an almost invariable rule Burch ells zebras arc hunted on horseback they are fleet and enduring and oven a firstclass South African limiting pony must bo In very good form and upon hard oven ground to carry Ida rider within hall of them Most usually usu-ally these animals are to be mot with feeding on open grassy plains or in OlllJII bush where largo glades and clearings lire to bo found In a tall on end chase across flats with a fair start they can usually gallop clean away from the mounted man It It wero not for n habit of curiosity they would Indeed be kltlle cattle to como up with on the great plains But their curiosity Is often their undoing un-doing I have many times galloped steadily behind a troop of those semis se-mis and then halted for a moment i The zebras would then wheel quickly round in line and stand for a mlnuto to have a good look at tho pursuer This was the time to put in a steady shot Sometimes oven whoa tho bunter bun-ter is galloping they will turn round and stand for a moment apparently out of sheer curiosity Exterminating the African Ze raIn ra-In senl bushy country where their a view Is moro circumscribed these zebras ze-bras are without much dlfllculty shot In Mnshonalaud largo numbers ot those zebras have boon shot within I tho last few years by the pioneers and settlers I havo fpund that by making a long d our 1I1l1 getting between be-tween them and the bush to which + thoy run for shelter those animals when feeding In the open can be driven about and shot pretty much at n 6 H L l WIll iiiuy Been for LIIU Limo to ue como fustered lose their heads try to maIm short cuts past tl > mounted men and so fall victims In former days these magnificent beasts ran In Immense numbers In all tho open country from the Orange river to the Zambesi They are still to be found In large troops In the Ngamiland country coun-try In remoter parts of Mashonaland and In still I rger numbers east and northeast of Mashonaland toward tho coast Beyond the Zambesi thor are widely distributed In Africa becoming be-coming exceedingly plentiful again upon tho great plains between tho east coast and Uganda South of tine Orange river they seem seldom U over to have ranged Burchells bra Is not to be confounded with the more asinine black rnd white mountain zebra 13 Zebra which IB perfectly striped all over The B rcb ells zebra Is best mown to tho British Brit-ish public of all this handsome group good examples being nlway on view In the Zoological societys gardens As a general rulo this zebra Is not perfectly banded down the legsns Is Its mountain cousin but a variety sometimes called by sclcntistsChap mans t zebra Is to be found In the Interior with tho white I gs pretty generally banded as fur down as the fetlocks Tine average European sportsman having shot a few of these beautiful creatures as specimens will usually stay his hand and spare them unless meat for his followers Is absolutely abso-lutely needed The Boer and native hunter on the contrary shoot them whenever they get the chance merely for the price of the sldnIt matter of n few shillings up country And so the species becomes exterminated It Is a thousand pities Of all sights In tho fair veldtand there are many to charm tho eyeI know of few nobler no-bler than u good troop of Burcholls zebras creatures which seem to havo been created for on other purpose than to adorn the wilderness Whether feeding quietly among the f i herbage or resting in the heat ot k midday or fleeting across tho plain + their striped coats as clean and shining 1 shin-ing as n wellgroomed race horse k gleaming In tho sunlight brisk beautifully beau-tifully proportioned and full of life and spirits these zebras represent I tho highest perfection ot feral life True children of the Bundrenchetl net plains long may they yet flourish to rf decorate the African veldt I By permission of Longmans Green to Co New York Cnpyrlulit 1909 by Hen B Hampton |