and began to crop the grass, the shadows were lengthening through
the trees. Then ahead of us an uneasiness ran through the herd.

We in the grass could hear the mutterings and grumblings of many
great animals. Suddenly F. snapped his fingers, stooped low and

darted forward. We scrambled to our feet and followed.
Across a short open space we ran, bent double to the shelter of a

big ant hill. Peering over the top of this we found ourselves
within sixty yards of a long compactcolumn of the great black

beasts, moving forward orderly to the left, the points of the
cow's horns, curved up and in, tossing slowly as the animals

walked. On the flank of the herd was a big gray bull.
It had been agreed that B. was to have the shot. Therefore he

opened fire with his 405 Winchester, a weaponaltogether too
light for this sort of work. At the shot the herd dashed forward

to an open grass meadow a few rods away, wheeled and faced back
in a compact mass, their noses thrust up and out in their typical

fashion, trying with all their senses to locate the cause of the
disturbance.

Taking advantage both of the scattered cover, and the half light
of the shadows we slipped forward as rapidly and as unobtrusively

as we could to the edge of the grass meadow. Here we came to a
stand eighty yards from the buffaloes. They stood compactly like

a herd of cattle, staring, tossing their heads, moving slightly,
their wild eyes searching for us. I saw several good bulls, but

always they moved where it was impossible to shoot without danger
of getting the wrong beast. Finally my chance came; I planted a

pair of Holland bullets in the shoulder of one of them.
The herd broke away to the right, sweeping past us at close

range. My bull ran thirty yards with them, then went down stone
dead. When we examined him we found the hole made by B.'s

Winchester bullet; so that quite unintentionally and by accident
I had fired at the same beast. This was lucky. The trophy, by

hunter's law, of course, belonged to B.
Therefore F. and I alone followed on after the herd. It was now

coming on dusk. Within a hundred yards we began to see scattered
beasts. The formation of the herd had broken. Some had gone on in

flight, while others in small scattered groups would stop to
stare back, and would then move slowly on for a few paces before

stopping again. Among these I made out a bull facing us about a
hundred and twenty-five yards away, and managed to stagger him,

but could not bring him down.
Now occurred an incident which I should hesitate to relate were

it not that both F. and myself saw it. We have since talked it
over, compared our recollections, and found them to coincide in

every particular.
As we moved cautiously in pursuit of the slowly retreating herd

three cows broke back and came running down past us. We ducked
aside and hid, of course, but noticed that of the three two were

very young, while one was so old that she had become fairly
emaciated, a very unusual thing with buffaloes. We then followed

the herd for twenty minutes, or until twilight, when we turned
back. About halfway down the slope we again met the three cows,

returning. They passed us within twenty yards, but paid us no
attention whatever. The old cow was coming along very

reluctantly, hanging back at every step, and every once in a
while swinging her head viciously at one or the other of her two

companions. These escorted her on either side, and a little to
the rear. They were plainly urging her forward, and did not

hesitate to dig her in the ribs with their horns whenever she
turned especially obstinate. In fact they acted exactly like a

pair of cowboys HERDING a recalcitrant animal back to its band
and I have no doubt at all that when they first by us the old

lady was making a break for liberty in the wrong direction, AND
THAT THE TWO YOUNGER COWS WERE TRYING TO ROUND

HER BACK! Whether they were her daughters or not is problematical;
but it certainly seemed that they were taking care of her and trying

to prevent her running back where it was dangerous to go. I never
heard of a similar case. though Herbert Ward* mentions, without

particulars that elephants AND BUFFALOES will assist each other
WHEN WOUNDED.

*A Voice from the COngo.
After passing these we returned to where B. and the men, who had

now come up, had prepared the dead bull for transportation. We
started at once, travelling by the stars, shouting and singing to

discourage the lions, but did not reach camp until well into the
night.

XXV. THE BUFFALO-continued
Some months later, and many hundreds of miles farther south,

Billy and I found ourselves alone with twenty men, and two weeks
to pass until C.-our companion at the time-should return from a

long journey out with a wounded man. By slow stages, and relaying
back and forth, we landed in a valley so beautiful in every way

that we resolved to stay as long as possible. This could be but
five days at most. At the end of that time we must start for our

prearranged rendezvous with C.
The valley was in the shape of an ellipse, the sides of which

were formed by great clifflike mountains, and the other two by
hills lower, but still of considerableboldness and size. The

longest radius was perhaps six or eight miles, and the shortest
three or four. At one end a canyon dropped away to a lower level,

and at the other a pass in the hills gave over to the country of
the Narassara River. The name of the valley was Lengeetoto.

>From the great mountains flowed many brooks of clear sparkling
water, that ran beneath the most beautiful of open jungles, to

unite finally in one main stream that disappeared down the canyon.
Between these brooks were low broad rolling hills, sometimes

grass covered, sometimes grown thinly with bushes. Where they
headed in the mountains, long stringers of forest trees ran up to

blocklike groves, apparently pasted like wafers against the base
of the cliffs, but in reality occupying spacious slopes below

them.
We decided to camp at the foot of a long grass slant within a

hundred yards of the trees along one of the small streams. Before
us we had the sweep of brown grass rising to a clear cut skyline;

and all about us the distant great hills behind which the day
dawned and fell. One afternoon a herd of giraffes stood

silhouetted on this skyline quite a half hour gazing curiously
down on our camp. Hartebeeste and zebra swarmed in the grassy

openings; and impalla in the brush. We saw sing-sing and
steinbuck, and other animals, and heard lions nearly every night.

But principally we elected to stay because a herd of buffaloes
ranged the foothills and dwelt in the groves of forest trees

under the cliffs. We wanted a buffalo; and as Lengeetoto is
practically unknown to white men, we thought this a good chance

to get one. In that I reckoned without the fact that at certain
seasons the Masai bring their cattle in, and at such times annoy

the buffalo all they can.
We started out well enough. I sent Memba Sasa with two men to

locate the herd. About three o'clock a messenger came to camp
after me. We plunged through our own jungle, crossed a low swell,

traversed another jungle, and got in touch with the other two
men. They reported the buffalo had entered the thicket a few

hundred yards below us. Cautiously reconnoitering the ground it
soon became evident that we would be forced more definitely to

locate the herd. To be sure, they had entered the streamjungle
at a known point, but there could be no telling how far they

might continue in the thicket, nor on what side of it they would
emerge at sundown. Therefore we commenced cautiously and slowly

follow the trail.
The going was very thick, naturally, and we could not see very