I08 DAHLAK 



hundred yards of her, compressed invisibly, as we were, in 

 the wrinkles of the terrain, only to take off again and land 

 about a mile away. All our strategy, tactics and encircling 

 movements were useless. We did not succeed in firing one 

 shot, not even in anger. We got home more dead than alive. 

 And since the scientific name of the bustard is Otis tarda we 

 thought it legitimate to re-name it Otis bastarda. 



Our luck with the gazelles was no better. Four of these 

 adorable creatures had, as a matter of fact, already fallen 

 under the fire of the expedition's guns. During the first dis- 

 embarkation Casciani and Alberto Grazioli, driving a new 

 type of land-wagon (the jeep went back with its owner to 

 Massawa), had made a practice of tearing after the timorous 

 daughters of the oasis at forty miles an hour if they came 

 across them in the open desert. At first the gazelles sped off in 

 terror and at an incredible speed, but after a hundred yards 

 or so they tired, were overtaken and shot at short range. 



This honest account of our hunting exploits may displease 

 the reader, but he must remember that in the solitude of the 

 desert, with the work we had to do and with our inadequate 

 and monotonous diet, fresh meat was an important con- 

 sideration, and, it must be admitted, a coveted dish. In fact, 

 when Casciani and Alberto brought back the spoils, even the 

 gentlest of us found ourselves compromised between our 

 stomachs and our sentiments. 



Gigi and I, however, wanted to shoot a gazelle unaided 

 except for our sole rifle. Our motives were once again quite 

 prosaic but none the less valid. 



We caught sight of a splendid male gazelle to the north- 

 west of Nasi's house in the wide base of a peninsula. As soon 

 as he saw us the animal fled west towards the promontory. 

 He had trapped himself It was about 4 p.m. and we had 

 been walking all day long. Tesfankièl was loaded with bird 



