27 



would be testing the patience of the reader too much 

 if we gave our daily travels throughout the trip. 



■Sf ■}£■ 4* 



HOW WE CATCH THE BIRDS. 



We start from the Depot with the usual equipment 

 (as mentioned in another part) and make a journey to 

 the nearest water hole. One man is left at the Depot 

 to prepare for the birds that are brought back to him. 

 On finding a suitable water hole, possibly 50 miles 

 from our starting place, we dig a trench from the 

 banks of the water, and let the water run into this. 

 Our nets are then set one each side of the trench, and 

 the natives are stationed all round the water to frighten 

 the birds off as they come to drink, which, by the way, 

 is iu the early morning and again in the afternoon. 

 They soon find out however that they can get an un- 

 disturbed drink at one place in the trench, and there 

 a number of them go. They are driven off several 

 times until they come in larger numbers. When a 

 sufficient number has come to drink the line is pulled, 

 and the nets come over like the leaves of a book and 

 the birds are underneath. Of course, the man who is 

 manipulating the net line is concealed, about 25 or 30 

 yards away. Sometimes we work two nets, one each 

 end of the water. At times the water is so large that 

 it would take 300 or 400 natives to surround it, and as 

 this is out of the question we stake the water round 

 with paper flags. If there is the least bit of wind 

 these flags flutter about, and so frighten the birds off". 

 In trapping birds we have a lot of trouble with hawks. 

 Sometimes they are so daring that they will actually 

 try to take the birds from the nets. 



We have caught as many as 274 birds in one net, 



