wary, only showing their noses above water, and disappearing at the slightest noise. These were exempted from intended slaughter, not merely by reason of their immunity as flesh too tough for digestion, but the difficulty in slaying them, for we are told that the only sure place for a fatal shot is the eye, and which," adds the author, " of course is very difficult." Flocks of wild geese and ducks are seen; the former, like the red-legged partridge, taking to the trees; none, however, coming to be killed, to assist the ship's larder. They proceed onwards, and scarcely have debouched into a park-like plain when a nimble oryx leapt up, and, says the author, "Slet fly, and broke its leg, leaving me to follow. I was unsuccessful, the poor brute having made off on three legs, occasionally appearing in the distance, as it shot past the shrubs." The party separate, and he determines to trust to his own skill, scarcely a hundred yards being traversed when a herd of six oryx came down with the wind. Lying in the long grass, he breathlessly awaits their nearer approach, and selecting the leader, a fine graceful animal, with a pair of perfect antlers, pulled the trigger, the poor creature giving one bound, and dropping; a ball passing through the brain not terminating its struggles, he leaves it to the Johanna men to finish, for "he had had quite enough of butchering." The weight was about sixty pounds. The marine accompanying the party hits an oryx, but only to hasten its speed, a subsequent shot entering its heart. "The sun was hot, and the mosquitoes voracious; but we enjoyed the day mightily-at least, I did," notes the author, "being successful." After the mid-day siesta, away they start again in the afternoon, to renew the chase. This time the game was very abundant, and firing at a magnificent water-buck, he wounds it. "Three more shots were fired into it, shattering its hind-leg, yet it made off." Later in the afternoon the doughty marine came across it," and gave chase, keeping within twenty yards of it; at one time trying to catch hold of its short tail, he was capsized, and lost his ammunition" (which rolled out of his unbuttoned pouch), and eventually the hart escaped. "It was luck for him," is naively added, "the enraged animal did not give him its antlers." S-puts a Jacob's shell into a buck's side, and witnesses "a most distressing but ludicrous sight. The shell burst inside the animal, and as it galloped away, panting, the smoke puffed out like the steam from a locomotive. Nevertheless, with this damage to its interior it got off." Having learnt from their cruising officer that the land teemed with game of all kinds in the neighbourhood of a place called Keomloni, after sundry preparations they start, divided into three parties, each party provided with a guide. The country passed over by the author was flat and open, flanked by a maze of small trees, scanty enough to be little or no obstruction to their passage, but crossed and recrossed by tracks amid trees so much alike as to puzzle them in finding the way, either backwards or forwards. It was in this maze they saw a good deal of game, the gazelle, the blue-horned guinea fowl, partridge, and a few pheasants; "but the trees were so numerous, that it was almost impossible to do any execution, though a sportsman with a quick eye, and requiring only one glance at the game, might have made a good bag. We were unaccustomed to the thing," he continued; "fired often, but as often missed our birds, either from waiting too long before firing, or the shot being half expended in the trees before reaching the birds. In the open, numbers of gazelles sprang up at our feet, or bounded over the plains at a fine rate; but in this we also failed, from many causes-chiefly our inexperience, not generally being on the alert, irresolute in choosing an animal, and also the wildness of the game itself. And I am almost ashamed to say, that after walking for four or five hours and seeing quantities of game, we returned with only one gazelle amongst us, and that shot by the youngest of the party.' Shooting in the tropics is pronounced no joke, and the steward, recreant, soon turned back exhausted, and others of the party, red as turkey-cocks, and pouring with perspiration, displayed symptoms of distress. They had omitted any supply of drink with which to slake their thirst or stimulate their failing energies, and suffered for their carelessness until they providentially reach a well. It was sunk about twenty feet in the ground; a little black boy stood in the centre of the water, naked, and bailed out the precious (but dirty) nectar, which we imbibed with that mighty zest only experienced by extremely thirsty men who have walked for hours in the heat of the day near the equator." Short of provisions, a party are sent out "a-hunting." A landing is effected on one of the green banks of the river between Congoni and East Luabo. Each takes a blue-jacket to assist in tracking and stalking, and presuming that the stalwart tars are on duty for the purpose principally of bearing back trophies of the chase, we await with pleasurable anxiety the results of the expedition. Our author, being at one time left alone, looks round as he rests upon his gun rather proudly, considering himself "a humble follower of that mighty hunter Gordon Cumming." "I only wanted the growl of a lion or a tiger to test my capabilities," he adds; "and above all, a tree for retreat to make the thing complete." Nor lion nor tiger appears; but in lieu a huge water-buck springs out of the grass under his very nose and stops his reveries, and challenges his capabilities;" but entranced with the sight of the beautiful creature, he fires too late, hearing the ball "thud" into him somewhere as he bounded away, striking off at right angles and then all at once turning, and facing him with its large black eyes. He re-loads, and had only just capped, when the buck was in a few moments out of sight. "For the next two hours," proceeds Mr. Devereux, "I was walking, stalking, and shooting at water-buck and oryx, up to my knees in water, scorched by a burning sun, and highly excited. Several times I stood behind a bush to leeward, and waited the arrival of a herd of noble brutes, and when within shot singled out a fine specimen and fired, but was much surprised to find that my Enfield bullet had little effect on them, unless striking a vital spot, twice I sent the lead through their bodies, which appeared only to increase their speed." At about 1 p.m. the hunters met, and with the aid of tremendous appetites discussed a lunch and the forenoon's sport. No one had killed anything, but several animals had been badly wounded, A couple of parties have gone out for sport, and one of them, after scrambling through dense long jungle grass eight feet high, came upon the spoor of many huge beasts, the real game ground being some five miles distant, a wooded district on the other side of an intermediate swamp; they turn back, however, as it was near sun-set, without having seen a single head. The other party rejoined them about an hour after, quite worn out, especially Captain W- who vowed never to land again on a shooting excursion. They had walked to the wood in the distance, wading through water up to their middles, and grass above their heads, and had shot a buffalo which had sprung-up out of the grass a couple of yards off. The animal was scratched only," and rushed from further scratching at a mad-long speed; cracking the reeds, dashing aside all impediments, and soon being lost to view, and this was the only "sport" they had. Our readers may laugh at the adventures thus recorded, but there is a serious as well as a ludicrous aspect offered to view. Famine, with a plentiful supply of food, might have been the fate of the ship's crew. With such marksmen what else save disaster could have followed in the face of assailants? for even savages would have delivered their arrows or hurled their spears with a certainty of aim at such impotent enemies, whose weapons, usually so dreaded by hostile tribes, would have proved a mockery. In actual warfare, with a civilized force, of what possible service could fire-arms be to such inexperienced shots ? the bravery individually or collectively of these gallant sailors at close quarters would avail them nothing at ordinary musket, much less rifle range. There is another matter we must refer to, the extreme cruelty in maiming animals merely: again and again it was evident to these "sportsmen" they were out of killing distance. "Beasts were seen to make away with many bullets, and even their bowels dragging after them," "of course," it is added, "these died shortly afterwards, but they could not be found ;" and the notion prevalent that the smell of carrion occasionally arose from the carcases of these wretched creatures that had died, not shortly afterwards probably, but under lingering agony was doubtless a correct notion. The inferior animals are entitled to fair play and fair treatment, especially those which render us services we avail ourselves of in many ways, and cruelty to these becomes doubly reprehensible. The Persian" arrives from Mosambique, and one of the youngsters volunteering to do the courier to Cape Town, rode his horse to death, after accomplishing the twenty-five miles in one hour and a-half. Now as not the slightest cause was assigned for such exceptional haste, we cannot refrain from expressing our indignation at this wanton act of barbarity. Dr. Livingstone spins some good yarns for the entertainment of his listeners, and we shall give the following as a setoff to the adventures of the "Gorgons": Standing behind a rock he fires at a lion crouching for a spring, and in a few seconds was rolling over-and-over in the embrace of the lion, the latter uppermost. The Doctor becomes stupified, and his powerful antagonist shakes him by the arm as a terrier would shake a rat. Luckily a native, whose life the Doctor had saved, came up with a musket, and fired at the lion, which immediately left the Doctor and turned on its fresh enemy, seizing him by the thigh. Another native attempting to spear him was so mauled he ultimately died of his injuries. The lion fell dead from the various wounds he received. The Doctor, recovering sufficiently, set his own arm, a few years afterwards having the misfortune to break it again, and now, we learn, the limb dangles by his side rather helplessly. Most people would conceive a lion or tiger to be the fiercest foe, but the Doctor has greater dread of attacking a buffalo than any other beast. We write in the reverse of an unfriendly spirit towards the author of this volume, which we cordially recommend to perusal as a valuable and unpretentious contribution to any library of voyages and travels, his information, hints, and opinions on several topics being of no slight importance, and we lay it down hoping to have another from the same pen recounting real sport. DOWN CHANNEL FROM LONDON TO THE LAND'S END IN THE LEO, 3 TONS; AND FROM LONDON TO THE SCILLY ISLANDS IN THE ORION, 16 TONS, R.T.Y.C.; with other Cruises. By R. T. Illustrations by Barlow Moore. Longmans, Green, McMullen. & Co. Every yachtsman-nay, every one that takes an interest in yachting -will find this a most spirit-stirring volume. The perils and dangers of the seas are most graphically told, and there is a freshness of style, a thorough knowledge of the subject, and a fine, healthy, manly tone throughout the work, which must ensure a large amount of enjoyment to all who peruse its pages. Mr. McMullen has proved himself a firstrate seaman, and a happy delineator of nautical life. SALES OF BLOOD STOCK. In Dublin, by Mr. R. Goff, in the Horse Show week: THE PALMERSTON YEARLINGS. Chesnut colt by Rattle, out of Hibernia, by Faugh-a-Ballagh (Mr. Keary) Chesnut filly by Rattle, out of Patapon, by Cotherstone (Captain Bunbury) Bay filly by Plum Pudding, out of Trireme, by Iago (Mr. Cockin) Bay Colt by Rattle, out of Ariadne, by Birdcatcher (Captain McCraith) Bay colt by Rapid Rhone, dam by Touchstone, out of Lady Sarah (Mr. Beytagh) Brown colt by Rattle, out of Frailty, by Knight of the Whistle (Mr. Keary) Bay filly by Blum Pudding, out of West Wind, by West Australian (December 24, 1867) (Mr. Brown) THE PROPERTY OF MR. G. W. LAMBERT. 45 Royal Duke by Wilton Beau, out of The Queen (sister to Merry Monarch) (Mr. Thompson) 13 Daisy-cutter by Saw-cutter, out of Marguerita, by Student (Mr. Reynolds) .. Caustic, by The Cure, 6 yrs. (Captain McCraith) Niagara, by Colonist, dam by Dr. O'Toole, 5 yrs. (Mr. Livesey) THE PROPERTY OF MR. J. D. WHYTE. Romping Girl by Ivan, out of Vanilla, by Sweetmeat, 4 yrs. (Mr. Murtagh) Lady Longfield by Bantam, out of Ocean Queen, by King Dan, 4 yrs. (Mr. Paley) Crystal by Red Hart, out of Maria Connor; with foal by Plum Pudding, and served by General Hess (Mr. Rynd) Weatherwitch by Weatherbit, out of Utopia, by Jerry; with filly by Zouave, and covered by The Duke (Mr. Chane) Blue Bonnet by Y Melbourne, dam by Teddington, out of Maid of Masham, aged; covered by Knight of St. Patrick (Mr. Glancy) .. ... 70 33 to 1 agst Royal Oak; 3,000 to 100 agst Typhon. THE DERBY, 1870.-10 to 1 against Sunshine, 1000 to 40 against Alstolfo, 1000 to 40 against Stanley, 2000 to 80 against Bribery colt, 2500 to 100 against Macgregor, 8000 to 200 against Cymbal, 5000 to 100 against Exciseman, 1000 to 30 against Moorlands, 1000 to 25 against Torreador. SPIER Price 2s. 6d., post free, bound in cloth. PIERS AND SON'S GAME REGISTER, with columns for giving an account of each head of game killed and how disposed of; also divisions for registering sporting engagements, general observations, &c. "The best and cheapest we have seen."-Field. HUNTING REGISTER, same size, 2s. 6d. "From its admirable arrangement no hunting man should be without it.”—Sporting Gazette. Oxford: SPIERS AND SON; London, Field Office, 846, Strand; wholesale only, Simpkin and Marshall. Printed by Rogerson and Tuxford, 265, Strand, London. |
