74 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



off. On this primitive but comfortable bed the 

 hunter spreads his blanket, his Kafir servants sleeping 

 within the hedge on each side of him, with fires at 

 their feet also. 



During the dry season, which lasts, as a rule, in 

 these latitudes, from May till October, nothing can 

 be pleasanter than thus sleeping out in the open air. 

 The atmosphere is dry and bracing — in the winter 

 time very cold ; no dew falls, and the tired hujiter 

 on his bed of grass, with nought to shut out the 

 clear starry heavens from his view, envies not the 

 sybarite on his bed of down. 



By sunset the " skerm " was made, the meat all 

 cut up and hung on poles, and I had finished skinning 

 the sable antelope's head, and was just thinking about 

 attacking my supper of stewed meat and rice, washed 

 down with a cup of bitter tea, when one of my boys 

 attracted my attention by remarking, " There's a 

 rhinoceros." And looking up I saw a white rhino- 

 ceros cow, with an almost full-grown calf, coming 

 down a footpath to the water on the opposite side of 

 the valley. My boys were very anxious that I should 

 go and shoot one, as the white species at this season 

 of the year are always very fat and excellent eating. 

 However, as I wished to get on the next day, and 

 they had as much meat, both sable antelope and 

 buffiilo, as they could carry, I would not do so, as I 

 consider it a grievous sin to shoot these lumbering, 

 stupid animals, unless having really need of the meat, 

 or when tempted by a particularly fine horn. About 

 an hour after sundown a large troop of buffaloes 

 came down to a pool a little way up the river, and 

 we could hear them grunting and splashing about 

 for a long time ; a troop of lions also awoke the 

 echoes of the night with their grand music, but at 



