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Show Fight Between a Buffalo and Lions One morning, a Kafir came In with a letter fastened in a cleft-stick, from a white man shooting on the Limpopo, three days upstream from the junction of the Marique. It was from a Maj. Frank Vardon of the Twenty-fifth Madras, N. I., who. hearing I was within a short distance, proposed to join parties and shoot together. In three days the fluest fellow and best comrade a fellow ever had made his appearance Sometimes wo would take a day together after elephant or buffalo, and occasionally wo met by accident, our boats cutting one another, an-other, arid the sound of the guns showing our whereabouts. Once having como together in this way, we saw the 'finest struggle of brute force I ever witnessed. Wo were making tracks back to the camp, walking our horses slowly along the bank, of the river, when Frank got off to shoot' a waterbuck (Aigoceros elipsiprymnus). A shout followed the report of his rifle. Dismounting, for the bush was thick. I soon joined him. In stalking the waterbuck ho had come across buffalo, and had wounded one. which, with two others, was still in view. I startd in pursuit and soon outran Vardon, for be was stout, one Kaffir holding with me. Presently I was abreast of his animal, which was leading, hard hit, against a tree. I gave it a wi.iUh berth, not wishing to finish Frank's vork, and pressed on after the others: but, Just as 1 passed, it mado a plunge forward, and began to run again; it the same instant the bisih was ntraxked with yellow, and calling out. "Cbrce along, there's a lion." I. put on a spurt to get first shot, carrying the gun at ie trail, for one had to stoop often under th branches of the thorns. After going 100 yards, I could distinctly dis-tinctly henr the sharp snort of the , buffalo, and muffled growl of its assailant, as-sailant, and knew that the latter had got hold. I still ran on, looking out for a sight of tho combatants, whoa suddenly the man who had kept up with mo put his hand on my wrist, and, pulling rather harder than h Intended, In-tended, stooping forwards and running run-ning as I was, down I came overbalanced. overbal-anced. "What Is it?" I asked angrily. "Look!" he answered. Within 25 yards a magnificent fight was coins on. Two other male lions had Joined the one I had first seen, and run blood-spoor till they had overtaken and stopped the buffalo. They were now all standing rampant on him, teeth and claws both at work, the gallant old bull doing hia ( utmost to hold his own against odds, 1 Ho tried to goro them, but they hugged his side, putting their bodies parallel with his, and so escaping tjo thrust; he swung tho lion on his right completely off his legs, as you swing a child by hia arms. It 1 was only by glimpses that you saw anything, for It was an enfolding cloud of duat, oet I which camo every now and agalB tho black hide of the bull and the fulvoua coats of the lions. Every muscle of the attackers and attacked was on the stretch. You felt rather than saw the terrible strain. Had the buffalo beea unwounded, even with the odds of three to one against, him. he would have left his mark. It did not last much more than a minute perhaps not even that and then the grand old "Nnari" came to the ground, killed by the ball, not by the lions. |