‘A JOURNEY IN THE EAST,’ 261 
high rushes, and grass. In many places this narrow impene- 
trable belt of vegetation is hardly more than ten to twenty 
yards broad, and right up to the herbage reaches the great 
desert itself, with its hills and valleys, flats and undulations, 
partly covered with very fine sand and partly with rough 
variegated stones. 
Baron Saurma stayed behind with the dachshunds close to 
the neck of land where the bushes began, and, following his 
suggestion, the other guns stationed themselves at certain 
distances from each other along the edge of the desert, while 
I took the furthest post at a spot where a break in the bushes 
left a narrow lane, which gave me an open shot down to the 
shore, and thus formed the natural limit to the first beat. 
On our way through the sand we had an opportunity of 
examining a great many tracks, which seemed to show that 
the beasts of prey come down every night from the desert to 
the shore to drink, and probably to surprise the sleeping 
waterfowl. There was track upon track, footprints of Hyzenas, 
Wolves, Jackals, and Fennecs or Desert-Foxes; we also saw 
in the fine sand the lines drawn by the great Lizards, and the 
broad trail of the repulsive Spectacled Snake. 
I had hardly got to my post when the dogs began to give 
tongue, though still a long way off; but the hunt came along 
quickly, and there was soon a loud barking close to me. 
Suddenly I saw a grey-brown shaggy beast, with a pointed 
head and a long thin ugly tail, going along at a quick trot 
close to the sandy shore. A lucky shot bowled it over, and 
before me lay an Ichneumon, that thoroughly African and 
very ugly creature, which has no resemblance to any of our 
European predatory animals, either in appearance or habits. 
The dogs soon appeared following on its track, and as these 
narrow thickets were now beaten out we decided on making 
another drive in the adjoining cover; but this second attempt 
was unhappily attended with no success. 
