Lake Victoria to Khartoum 



The hills are a mass of piled-up granite boul- 

 ders, tenanted by large flocks of guinea-fowl, 

 millions of bats, and an enormous warrena lizard 

 — now, I fear, no more ! I hit him very badly 

 indeed, and he lay stretched out for dead, till, such 

 is the vitality of these creatures, the noise of our 

 approaching footsteps — apparently— impelled him 

 to seek refuge in a hole in the rocks, from which 

 our united efforts, including those of two lusty 

 Sudanese soldiers hauling at his tail, could not 

 dislodge him. 



When on top of the hill we became aware of 

 an extraordinary squeaking sound, and after 

 poking about nearly fell into a wide crevice in 

 the rocks in which bats were packed like sardines. 

 The place looked like a game larder after a big 

 batttie. It was literally stuffed with bats ; hang- 

 ing on by their eyelids to the roughnesses and 

 irregularities of the rock. A stone thrown down 

 sent them all off in a cloud, like so many locusts, 

 stirring up quite a breeze with their fluttering 

 wings. They were soon driven back to their 

 rocky fastness by force of circumstances in the 

 shape of countless wheeling kites and hawks. 

 " It's an ill wind," etc.; the latter doubtless had a 

 good meal that day. 



Back to our floating haven of refuge we tramped, 

 unsuccessful as regards our shoot, across the 

 parti-coloured plain, now green, now black, ac- 

 cording as the grass had been burnt or not, 



162 



