The
Jungle Was Open, Composed Of Thorny Mimosas At Such Wide
Intervals, That A Horse Could Be Ridden At Considerable Speed If
Accustomed To The Country.
Altogether it was the perfection of
ground for shooting, and the chances were in favour of the rifle.
We had proceeded carefully about half a mile when I heard a
rustling in the grass, and I shortly perceived a bull buffalo
standing alone beneath a tree, close to the sandy bed of a dried
stream, about a hundred yards distant between us and the animal;
the grass had been entirely destroyed by the trampling of a large
herd. I took aim at the shoulder with one of my No. 10 Reilly
rifles, and the buffalo rushed forward at the shot, and fell
about a hundred paces beyond in the bush. At the report of the
shot, the herd that we had not observed, which had been lying
upon the sandy bed of the stream, rushed past us with a sound
like thunder, in a cloud of dust raised by several hundreds of
large animals in full gallop. I could hardly see them distinctly,
and I waited for a good chance, when presently a mighty bull
separated from the rest, and gave me a fair shoulder shot. I
fired a little too forward, and missed the shoulder; but I made
a still better shot by mistake, as the Reilly bullet broke the
spine through the neck, and dropped him dead. Florian, poor
fellow, had not the necessary tools for the work, and one of his
light guns produced no effect. Now came the time for the
aggageers. Away dashed Jali on his fiery mare, closely followed
by Abou Do and Suleiman, who in a few instants were obscured in
the cloud of dust raised by the retreating buffaloes. As soon as
I could mount my horse that had been led behind me, I followed at
full speed, and spurring hard, I shortly came in sight of the
three aggageers, not only in the dust, but actually among the
rear buffaloes of the herd. Suddenly, Jali almost disappeared
from the saddle as he leaned forward with a jerk, and seized a
fine young buffalo by the tail. In a moment Abou Do and Suleiman
sprang from their horses, and I arrived just in time to assist
them in securing a fine little bull of about twelve hands high,
whose horns were six or seven inches long. A pretty fight we had
with the young Hercules. The Arabs stuck to him like bull-dogs,
in spite of his tremendous struggles, and Florian, with other
men, shortly arriving, we secured him by lashing his legs
together with our belts until impromptu ropes could be made with
mimosa bark. I now returned to the spot where we had left my wife
and the tetel. I found her standing about fifty yards from the
spot with a double rifle cocked, awaiting an expected charge from
one of the buffaloes that, separated from the herd, had happened
to rush in her direction. Mahomet had been in an awful fright,
and was now standing secure behind his mistress. I rode through
the grass with the hope of getting a shot, but the animal had
disappeared. We returned to the dead tetel and to our captive
baboons; but times had changed since we had left them. One had
taken advantage of our absence, and, having bitten through his
tether, he had escaped; the other had used force instead of
cunning, and, in attempting to tear away from confinement, had
strangled himself with the slip-knot of the rope.
The aggageers now came up with the young buffalo. This was a
great prize, as zoological specimens were much sought after at
Cassala by an agent from Italy, who had given contracts for a
supply. My hunters, to whom I willingly gave my share in the
animal, left one of their party with several of my people to
obtain the assistance of the camel-drivers, who were not far
distant in the rear; these were to bring the flesh of the
animals, and to drive the young bull on the march.
We now pushed on ahead, and at 5 P.M. we arrived at the spot on
the margin of the Settite river at which we were to encamp for
some time.
In this position, the valley of the Settite had changed its
character: instead of the rugged and broken slopes on either side
of the river, ascending gradually to the high table lands, the
east bank of the river was low, and extended, in a perfect flat
for about eight miles, to the foot of an abrupt range of hills;
the base had many ages ago formed the margin of the stream, which
had washed this enormous mass of soil towards the Atbara river,
to be carried by the Nile for a deposit in Lower Egypt. During
the rainy season, the river overflowed its banks, and attained a
width in many places of six and seven hundred yards. The soil was
rich, and, having imbibed much moisture from a periodical
overflow, it gave birth to thick jungles of nabbuk (Rhamnus
lotus), together with luxuriant grass, which being beautifully
green while all other leaves and herbage were parched and
withered, afforded pasturage and shade that attracted a number of
wild animals. For many miles on either side the river was fringed
with dense groves of the green nabbuk, but upon the east bank, an
island had been formed of about three hundred acres; this was a
perfect oasis of verdure, covered with large nabbuk trees, about
thirty feet high, and forming a mixture of the densest coverts,
with small open glades of rich but low herbage. To reach this
island, upon which we were to encamp, it was necessary to cross
the arm of the river, that was now dry, with the exception of
deep pools, in one of which we perceived a large bull buffalo
drinking, just as we descended the hill.
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