Evening star., 1923-12-02

any other kind of animal in
Africa. A lion prefers not to
u fight man. He almost never
attacks unprovoked, and even when
he does attack he is not vindictive.
The elephant, like the lion. prefers to
be left alone. But he is quicker to at
tack than the lion and he isn't satisfied
merely to knock out his man enemy.
Complete destruction is his aim.
The buffalo is even quicker than the
elephant to take offense at man and he
is as keen-sighted, clever and vindic-
tive as the elephant.
AS a matter of fact the domesticated
bull is more likely to attack man
without provocation than any wild
animal 1 know, and those who wan
dered around the bulls on our Western
prairies in the old cattle days on foot
probably experienced the same kind of
charges one gets from African buff
faloes.
Nevertheless. despite all these quail
tiles which are almost universally at
tributed to the African buffalo l am
confident that the buffalo. like the ele-
phant and other wild animals, has no
instructive enmity to man. That en-
nifty. am sure. is acquired by expert
ence.
Such initiation is like that of a band
of elephants I met on the Aberdare
plateau that had seen little or nothing
of man, and until they learned about
men from me. they paid no more at
tention to me than if 1 had been an
antelope. But after 1 had shot one or
two as specimens, they acquired the
traditional elephant attitude. 1 had a
curiously similar experience with buff
faloes.
1t happened in this way Mrs Axe
ley, Cuninghame, the famous hunter,
and / had been trying for some time.
but with little luck, to get buffalo spe-
cimens for group for the Field Mu-
scum at Chicago.
We had reason to believe that there
was a herd of buffaloes living in the
triangle made by the junction Of the
Theba and Tana rivers. AS the buff
faloes would have to water from one
stream or the other We felt pretty sure
of locating them by following down the
Theba to the junction and then up the
Tana
From the swamp down the Theba to
its junction with the Tana occupied
three days in which We saw no fresh
signs Of buffalo. On the second march
up the Tana. as i was travelling ahead
of the safari at about midday, looking
out through an opening in a strip of
thorn bush that bordered the river. ]
saw in the distance great black mass
on the op-n plain which, on further
investigation with the field glasses, i
was reasonably certain was a herd of
buffaloes.
CENDING a note back to Cunning
hame, who was in charge of the
safari, suggesting that he make
camp at a hill on the banks of the
Tana about two miles ahead of my
position and await me there, 1 started
off over the plain with my two gun
boys. Coming up out of a dry
strean-bed that / had used to con-
ceal my approach, l came on to a
large herd of Gland. and my first fear
was that l had mistaken eland for
buffaloes. r...
Proceeding farther on, however,
we saw a herd of about five hundred
buffaloes lying up in a few scattered
thorn trees, four or five hundred
yards away. At first it seemed an al
most impossible situation. There was
practically no cover and no means
of escape in case the herd detect ed
US and saw fit to charge. and at that
time nay respect for buffaloes led me
to be extremely cautious.
We worked around the herd trying
TO find some place where a safe ap-
proach might be made. Finally, see
ing little band Of a dozen buffaloes
off at one side on the bank of a ravine
which offered splendid protection, we
stalked them out but, unfortunately.
not one in the band was desirable as
specimen. Since this was so, /
tried them out. giving them my
wind, then going up where they could
see me better. 1 found that they
were quite different either to the