32 THE ODYSSEY OF AN ANIMAL COLLECTOR 
ending. Krantz had one of his cattle taken by a lion, so he con- 
structed a hide in a tree overlooking the carcass. There we sat, on 
a bright moonlit night, not daring to speak and enduring a mass 
attack of mosquitoes. It seemed hours before anything happened, 
and our patience was nearly exhausted when a dark form appeared 
from out of the shadows. It walked slowly to the carcass in a 
suspicious sort of way, and just as I was pondering as to whether 
it really was the lion returning to his kill or merely a hyena, 
Krantz fired. It is very difficult to distinguish things by moonlight, 
especially when there are numerous shadows, so we were both a 
trifle dubious as we descended the tree to inspect the dead animal. 
Krantz’s doubts were changed to annoyance mingled with anger 
when he saw what he had shot. It was a large ridge-back dog—a 
species commonly used for hunting—that had strayed some miles 
from a neighbor’s farm. The owner, on hearing of the incident, 
cursed the luckless Krantz in no uncertain fashion, and he suffered 
a lot of leg-pulling after that. 
Sometimes Krantz used to accompany me on my bird-hunting 
expeditions, and this had one great advantage, for no matter where 
we were, on the mountains, a kopje, or in thick bush, his houseboy 
rarely failed to track us down, bringing a large jug of “bush” tea. 
Ploughing through dense bush, up hill and down dale in the 
sweltering heat of Mozambique, produced a thirst unknown to 
those who dwell in temperate zones, so the boy’s arrival was 
always one of thankfulness and surprise to me. 
One day after a particularly strenuous time Krantz and I sat 
on a rock mopping the sweat from our brows. We were sur- 
rounded by fairly thick bush, and it was impossible to see more 
than a few yards. We had only just finished saying what we could 
do to a cup of tea when, to our amazement, his boy—true to form 
—burst through the bushes close by, carrying the usual quart jug 
of tea. He was certainly an intelligent fellow, and according to 
Krantz he used to start off by asking farm boys the general direc- 
tion in which we had gone, then he resorted to tracking and 
finally, of course, he was guided by sound. 
Bush tea (or Rooibosch tea, as it is called in South Africa) 
makes a most refreshing drink and has certain tonic properties. It 
