(11. IX] SPRINGHAAS 221 



wlien perched on twigs. Stopping at the Government 

 farm (which is most interesting ; the results obtained in 

 improA'ing the native sheep, goats, and cattle by the use 

 of imported thoroughbred bulls and rams have been 

 astonishingly successful), wc saw the little long-tailed, 

 red-billed, black and white whydahs Hitting around the 

 outbuildings as familiarly as sparrows. AVater birds of 

 all kinds thronged the meadows bordering the papyrus, 

 and swam and waded among the water-lilies ; sacred 

 ibis, herons, beautiful white spoonbills, darters, cor- 

 morants, Egyptian geese, ducks, coots, and water-hens. 

 T got up within rifle-range of a flock of the queer ibis 

 stork, black and white birds with curved yellow bills, 

 naked red faces, and wonderful purple tints on the 

 edges and the insides of the wings. With the little 

 S])ringfield I shot one on the ground and another on the 

 wing, after the flock had risen. 



That night Kermit and Dr. INIearns went out with 

 lanterns and shot-guns, and each killed one of the 

 springhaas, the jumping hares, which abounded in the 

 neighbourhood. These big, burrowing animals, which 

 progress by jumping like kangaroos, are stri(;tly noc- 

 turnal, and their eyes shine in the glare of the lanterns. 



Next day I took the Fox gun, which had already on 

 ducks, guinea-fowl, and francolin, shown itself an 

 exceptionally hard-hitting and close-shooting weapon, 

 and collected various water birds for the naturalists ; 

 among others, a couple of Egyptian geese. 1 also shot 

 a white pelican with the Springfleld rifle ; there was a 

 beautiful rosy flush on the breast. 



Here we again got news of the outside world. While 

 on safari the only newspaper which any of us ever saw 

 was the (hccgo Gazette, which Loring, in a fine spirit 

 of neighbourhood loyalty, always had sent to him in his 



