THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



as if consulting with each other. Again I fired the big 

 gun several times. To my delight I now saw the men 

 turn in our direction and move forward. As the sun by 

 this time had already set and it began to darken, we quick- 

 ly made a fire with grass and dry branches to further 

 attract the attention of the lost safari. 



About half an hour later our whole caravan was gath- 

 ered together at the camping ground. Some men were 

 then dispatched with lanterns to the place where the giraffe 

 had fallen, whence they returned a couple of hours later 

 with the beautiful trophy. I found that the reason why 

 the men had gone astray was that they had seen a small 

 native path going off in a different direction from where 

 we were marching, and, not being able to see us, they be- 

 lieved that we had taken that way. I now learned that if 

 we had thought of it at the time, and put a bunch of grass 

 or some sticks across the path, the natives would not have 

 followed it, but kept on straight ahead, looking for our 

 tracks in the grass. 



The zebra is one of the finest-looking wild animals in 

 Africa. It is, indeed, very interesting to watch a large 

 herd of them as they feed, play, or gallop off on the vast 

 plains. Their black and white stripes make them appear, 

 in the distance, as if the whole animal were either black 

 or white, according as they appear in the sunlight or 

 shadow. It is rather remarkable how the zebra is able to 

 blend with its surroundings in grass country and among 

 thin bush, so that, to the unaccustomed eye, it is hard to 

 make it out at a distance, if it is standing still. The zebra 

 is exclusively a native of Africa, where there are at present 



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