“I saw him and Begum going out together just now,” said the Major.  “What for, I do not know.”

“Oh!  I told him to get some of the Bushman roots,” said Alexander; “they are as good as potatoes when boiled; and he has taken the monkey to find them.”

The Major and Alexander remained on their beds till supper-time, when Mahomed woke them up.  They found themselves much refreshed by their sleep, and also found that their appetites had returned.  Buffalo-steaks and fried Bushman roots were declared to be a very good substitute for beefsteaks and fried potatoes; and after they had made a hearty meal, Alexander inquired of Swinton what he had seen of buffalo-hunting when he had been at the Cape before.

“I have only been once or twice engaged in a buffalo-hunt; but I can tell you what I have heard, and what I have collected from my own knowledge, as to the nature of the animal, of which indeed to-day you have had a very good proof.  I told you this morning, that a single buffalo was more dangerous than a herd; and the reason is this:—­At the breeding season, the fiercest bulls drive the others away from the herd, in the same manner as the elephants do; and these solitary buffaloes are extremely dangerous, as they do not wait to be attacked, but will attack a man without any provocation.  They generally conceal themselves, and rush out upon you unawares, which makes it more difficult to escape from them.  They are so bold, that they do not fear the lion himself; and I have been told by the Dutch boors, that when a buffalo has killed one of their comrades by goring and tossing him, it will not leave its victim for hours, but continue to trample on him with his hoofs, crushing the body with its knees as an elephant does, and with its rough tongue stripping off the skin as far as it can.  It does not do all this at one time, but it leaves the body, and returns again, as if to glut its vengeance.”

“What a malicious brute!”

“Such is certainly its character.  I recollect a history of a buffalo-hunting adventure, told me by a Dutch farmer, who was himself an eye-witness to the scene.  He had gone out with a party to hunt a herd of buffaloes which were grazing on a piece of marshy ground, sprinkled with a few mimosa-trees.  As they could not get within shot of the herd, without crossing a portion of the marsh, which was not safe for horses, they agreed to leave their steeds in charge of two Hottentots, and to advance on foot; thinking that, in case any of the buffaloes should charge them, it would be easy to escape by running back to the marsh, which would bear the weight of a man, but not of a horse, much less that of a buffalo.