Big Game Shooting 



bank, tied on to the piers on each side, was for 

 use in hauling across the baulks of timber to 

 build the main roadway upon. The river swarms 

 with crocodiles, so that if the rope broke one 

 would be hurled through twenty feet of space into 

 water and the probable jaws of a gaping croco- 

 dile. No unmixed blessing ! The camp should 

 be pitched on the western side to avoid the ticks 

 and jiggers of innumerable native caravans pass- 

 ing that way, who always choose the friendly 

 shade of the big trees on the hither side and hope 

 for the best as regards insect life. A water-buck 

 or impalah — I saw a very big one there once — 

 will be sufficient reward for that evening's stroll, 

 or, if one is unsuccessful, a succulent Grant's or 

 Tommy's steak shot on the way, in the morning, 

 will still come in useful. By the way, this stage 

 will have to be undertaken in two marches, as it is 

 about thirty-two miles. A short march of ten or 

 twelve miles will suffice the first day, as there is 

 always a lot of bother on one's first day's trek out 

 of any standing camp, be it in a town or in the 

 wilds. The next day, starting early, one wanders 

 through rather monotonous rolling country, with 

 the usual common game, and an occasional sight 

 of a giraffe, to Punda Millia. There are lion 

 there, but not many, and they tell me that there 

 is a herd of roan in the neighbourhood to the 

 north, but not worth going for. I can locate 

 a herd in another place later on. On the follow- 



188 



