Funny Face Shrieked Aloud, Let Go All Holds And Fell Off
Flat On His Back.
Recovering immediately, he climbed just as high
as he could, and proceeded, during the next hour, to relieve his
feelings by the most insulting chatterings and grimaces.
He never
recovered from this initial experience. All that was necessary to
evoke all sorts of monkey talk was to produce Little Simba.
Against his benign plush front then broke a storm of
remonstrance. He became the object of slow advances and sudden
scurrying, shrieking retreats, that lasted just as long as he
stayed there, and never got any farther than a certain quite
conservative point. Little Simba did not mind. He was too busy
being a god.
XXIV. BUFFALO
The Cape Buffalo is one of the four dangerous kinds of African
big game; of which the other three are the lion, the rhinoceros,
and the elephant. These latter are familiar to us in zoological
gardens, although the African and larger form of the rhinoceros
and elephant are seldom or never seen in captivity. But buffaloes
are as yet unrepresented in our living collections. They are huge
beasts, tremendous from any point of view, whether considered in
height, in mass, or in power. At the shoulder they stand from
just under five feet to just under six feet in height; they are
short legged, heavy bodied bull necked, thick in every dimension.
In colour they are black as to hair, and slate gray as to skin;
so that the individual impression depends on the thickness of the
coat. They wear their horns parted in the middle, sweeping
smoothly away in the curves of two great bosses either side the
head. A good trophy will measure in spread from forty inches to
four feet. Four men will be required to carry in the head alone.
As buffaloes when disturbed or suspicious have a habit of
thrusting their noses up and forward, that position will cling to
one's memory as the most typical of the species.
A great many hunters rank the buffalo first among the dangerous
beasts. This is not my own opinion, but he is certainly dangerous
enough. He possesses the size, power, and truculence of the
rhinoceros, together with all that animal's keenness of scent and
hearing but with a sharpness of vision the rhinoceros has not.
While not as clever as either the lion or the elephant, he is
tricky enough when angered to circle back for the purpose of
attacking his pursuers in the rear or flank, and to arrange
rather ingenious ambushes for the same purpose. He is rather more
tenacious of life than the rhinoceros, and will carry away an
extraordinary quantity of big bullets. Add to these
considerations the facts that buffaloes go in herds; and that,
barring luck, chances are about even they will have to be
followed into the thickest cover, it can readily be seen that
their pursuit is exciting.
The problem would be simplified were one able or willing to slip
into the thicket or up to the grazing herd and kill the nearest
beast that offers.
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