Hunting in Many Lands 



and refuse them the least aid when in distress. 

 I know that my point of view in this matter 

 has few supporters in civilization. 



The next day, after a short march, I pitched 

 my tent on the banks of a small stream, and 

 then set out to prospect for game. I found 

 nothing, but that night my slumbers were dis- 

 turbed by the splashing and grunting of a 

 herd of buffalo drinking. 



These sounds kept me awake, so that I was 

 enabled to make a very early start — setting out 

 with four men at 4:45. The natives had as- 

 sured me that the buffalo came to drink about 

 midnight, and then fed slowly back to their 

 favorite sleeping-places in the thick bush, 

 reaching there just about sunrise. By making 

 such an early start I hoped to come up with my 

 quarry in the open places on the edge of the 

 thick bush just before dawn, when the light is 

 sufficiently bright to enable one to see the fore- 

 sight of a rifle. Dew falls like rain in this part 

 of the world, and we had not gone fifty paces 

 in the long grass before we were soaking wet, 

 and dismally cold to boot. My guide, cheered 

 by the prospect of a good present, led us con- 

 fidently along the most intricate paths and 

 through the thickest bush. The moon over- 



28 



