Sport in Nyasaland 



of locating game was drinking pombe in the nearest 

 village ; but, even if they had been good, we had 

 hardly sufficient time at our disposal to work the 

 system properly. However, until we reached the 

 Achepeta country the local natives were very 

 willing to assist us, and whenever game was to be 

 found in the neighbourhood of their villages they 

 readily showed us to the feeding grounds. But 

 this was not often the case, and we had then to 

 adopt the " chuck and chance " system ; or, in 

 other words, wander through the forests under the 

 guidance of one or more local natives, who were 

 always making believe that they expected to sight 

 game behind every thicket, but rarely, if ever, 

 showed us any. 



Still stalking in a pleasant climate and amidst 

 beautiful surroundings can be delightful enough, 

 even though one may perchance not fire more than 

 one shot in a month; but in a dry, black African 

 forest, with a hot sun overhead and a heavy, 

 heated atmosphere, it can never be anything but 

 tedious in the extreme. The sportsman can of 

 course get into his machilla, but once in it, his 

 connection with the sport practically ceases ; and if 

 by chance his natives do stumble upon game, by 

 the time he has struggled out and seized his rifle 

 the beasts will have vanished. 



Our men were fair trackers, and we used to 

 vary the monotony by following the tracks, both 

 old and new, that we occasionally struck. But here 

 again a great difficulty arose, for in August and 

 September everything is intensely dry, and as the 



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