en. \ii] VARIOUS GAME .353 



to coine across a lioness and her cubs, an old lion with 

 several lionesses and their young (for they are often 

 polygamous), a single lion or lioness, or a couple of 

 lions or lionesses, or a small troup, either all lions or all 

 lionesses, or of mixed sexes. These facts are not com- 

 patible with the romantic theory in question. 



We tried to get the Nandi to stay with us for a few 

 days and beat for lions, but this they refused to do, 

 unless they were also to kill them ; and I did not care 

 to assist as a mere spectator at any more lion hunts, no 

 matter how exciting — though to do so once was well 

 worth while. So we moved on by ourselves, camping 

 in likely places. In the swamps, living among the 

 reeds, were big handsome cuckoos, which ate mice. 

 Our first camp was by a stream bordered by trees like 

 clove-trees ; at evening multitudes of yellow-billed 

 pigeons flew up its course. They were feeding on 

 olives, and were good for the table ; and so were the 

 yellow-billed mallards, which were found in the occa- 

 sional pools. Everything we shot at this time went 

 into the pot— except a hyena. The stomachs of the 

 reedbuck and oribi contained nothing but grass, but the 

 stomachs of the duikers were filled with berries from a 

 plant which looked like the deadly nightshade. On the 

 burned ground, by the way, the oribi, which were very 

 plentiful, behaved precisely like tommies, except that 

 they did not go in as large troops ; they made no efibrt 

 to hide as they do in thick grass, and as duikers, stein- 

 bucks, and reedbucks always do. We saw, but could 

 not get a shot at, one topi with a white or blazed face, 

 like a South African blesbok. AVhile beating one 

 swamp a lion appeared for an instant at its edge, a 

 hundred and fifty yards off. I got a snap shot, and 

 ought to have hit him, but didn't. We tried our best 



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