214 TO LAKE NAIVASHA [ch. ix 



pocket gophers, which have shiiilar habits. So the 

 long-tailed gerbils, or gerbil-like rats, resembled our 

 kangaroo rats ; and there was a blunt-nosed, stubby- 

 tailed little rat superficially hardly to be told from our 

 rice rat. But the most characteristic rodent — the big 

 long- tailed, jumping springhaas, resembled nothing of 

 ours ; and there were tree rats and spiny mice. There 

 were grey monkeys in the trees around camp, which the 

 naturalists shot. 



Heller trapped various beasts — beautifully marked 

 genets and a big white-tailed mongoose which was very 

 savage. But his most remarkable catch was a leopard. 

 He had set a steel trap, fastened to a loose thorn 

 branch, for mongoose, civets, or jackals. It was a 

 number two Blake, such as in America we use for 

 coons, skunks, foxes, and perhaps bobcats and coyotes. 

 In the morning he found it gone, and followed the trail 

 of the thorn branch until it led into a dense thicket, 

 from which issued an ominous growl. His native boy 

 shouted " Simba !" but it was a leopard, not a lion. 

 He could not see into the thicket ; so he sent back to 

 camp for his rifle, and when it came he climbed a tree 

 and endeavoured to catch a glimpse of the animal. He 

 could see nothing, however, and finally fired into the 

 thicket rather at random. The answer was a furious 

 growl, and the leopard charged out to the foot of the 

 tree, much hampered by the big thorn branch. He put 

 a bullet into it, and back it went, only to come out and 

 to receive another bullet ; and he killed it. It was an 

 old male, in good condition, weighing one hundred and 

 twenty-six pounds. The trap was not big enough to 

 contain his whole paw, and he had been cauglit firmly 

 by one toe. The thorn bush acted as a drag, which 

 prevented him from going far, and yet always yielded 



