CH. xiv] A FIRE 397 



the slender, l)lack-leg<>'e(l, yellow-toed egret — on the 

 rhinos, and the hodies and lieads of both the cow and 

 calf looked as though they had been splashed with 

 streaks of whitewash. One of the egrets returned after 

 the shooting and perched on the dead body of the calf 



The heat was intense, and our gun-bearers at once 

 began skinning tiie ani mals, lest they should spoil ; and 

 that afternoon Cuninghame and Heller came out from 

 camp with tents, (bod, and water, and Heller cared for 

 the skins on the spot, taking tliirty-six hours for the job. 

 The second niglit he was visited by a party of lions, 

 which were after the rhinoceros meat, and came within 

 fifteen feet of the tents. 



On the same niglit that Heller was visited by the 

 lions we had to tight fire in the main camp. At noon 

 we noticed two fires come toward us, and could soon 

 hear their roaring. The tall, tliick grass was like 

 tinder; and if we let the fires reach camp we were 

 certain to lose everything we had. So Loring, Mearns, 

 Kermit, and I, who were in camp, got out the porters 

 and cut a lane around our tents and goods ; and then 

 started a back fire, section after section, from the other 

 side of this lane. VA''e kept everyone ready, with 

 branches and wet gunny-sacks, and lit each section in 

 turn, so that we could readily beat out the flames at 

 any point where they threatened. The air was still, 

 and soon after nightfall our back fire had burnt fifty or 

 a hundred yards away from camp, and the danger was 

 practically over. Shortly afterward one of the fires 

 against which we were guarding came over a low hill 

 crest into view, beyond the line of our back fire. It 

 was a fine sight to see the long line of leaping, wavering 

 flames advance toward one another. An liour or two 

 passed before they met, lialf a mile from camp. 



