Forest and Frontiers | Page 7

to one side, trotted sulkily past within a few paces of me, taking one
step to the left. I pitched my rifle to my shoulder, and in another second
the lioness was stretched on the plain a lifeless corpse.
In the struggles of death she half turned on her back, and stretched her
neck and fore arms convulsively, when she fell back to her former

position; her mighty arms hung powerless by her side, her lower jaw
fell, blood streamed from her mouth, and she expired. At the moment I
fired my second shot, Stofolus, who hardly knew whether he was alive
or dead, allowed the three horses to escape. These galloped frantically
across the plain, on which he and Kleinboy instantly started after them,
leaving me standing alone, and unarmed, within a few feet of the
lioness, which they from their anxiety to be out of the way, evidently
considered quite capable of doing further mischief.
Hunting the Blauwbok and Buffalo.
Among the various kinds of antelopes which inhabit South Africa, the
blauwbok, or blue buck, called by Mr. Cumming, the blue antelope, is
one of the most remarkable. It is six feet in length, three feet and a half
high to the back, and very compactly made. The horns are more than
two feet in length, round, closely annulated to within six inches of the
tips, bent back in a uniform but moderate curve, and very sharp at the
points. The general color of the hair is gray, with the insides of the ears,
a streak before each eye, the insides of the legs, and a few hairs along
the ridge of the neck, white. The hair on the body divides on the line of
the back, and is rather coarse and open.
The skin under it on the upper part of the living animal is a black,
which shining through the grey, produces a sort of raven-blue tint. It is
the epidermis only and not the mucous tissue which has this black color,
otherwise the hair would have it; and it fades when the animal is dead,
as is the case with a highly-colored epidermis in almost all animals.
This animal was frequently pursued and shot by Mr. Cumming, in his
African hunts, and his flesh was found to be excellent.
The Cape buffalo, or African buffalo, was a more troublesome object of
chase. This animal, has a most formidable front, and its general aspect
is shaggy and formidable. The horns are the most compact, and in their
substance the heaviest of all the ruminating animals, excepting only
some of those of the antelopes. This animal is considerably lower than
the Indian buffalo; but it is firmer, though shorter in the legs, rounder in
the body; and the beard and short mane give it a rugged appearance.

This is by far the most formidable animal of the genus. It has never
been tamed, and the males are dangerous to come near.
Mr. Cumming thus describes one of his encounters with this animal, by
himself and Ruyter, a Bushman, a favorite servant.
On the forenoon of the 26th, I rode to hunt, accompanied by Ruyter; we
held west, skirting the wooded stony mountains. The natives had here
many years before waged successful war with elephants, four of whose
skulls I found. Presently I came across two sassaybies, one of which I
knocked over; but while I was loading he regained his legs and made
off. We crossed a level stretch of forest, holding a northerly course for
an opposite range of green, well wooded hills and valleys. Here I came
upon a troop of six fine old bull buffaloes, into which I stalked, and
wounded one princely fellow behind the shoulder, bringing blood from
nis mouth; he, however made off with his comrades, and the ground
being very rough we failed to overtake him. They held for the
Ngotwani. After following the spoor for a couple of miles, we dropped
it, as it led right away from camp.
Returning from this chase, we had an adventure with another old bull
buffalo, which shows the extreme danger of hunting buffaloes without
dogs. We started him in a green hollow among the hills, and his course
inclining for camp, I gave him chase. He crossed the level broad strath
and made for the opposite densely wooded range of mountains. Along
the base of these we followed him, sometimes in view, sometimes on
the spoor, keeping the old fellow at a pace which made him pant. At
length, finding himself much distressed, he had recourse to a singular
stratagem. Doubling round some thick bushes which obscured him
from our view, he found himself beside a small pool of rain water, just
deep enough to cover his body; into this he walked, and facing