344 AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



our white-tail deer, the bushbuck is a vicious and redoubt- 

 able fighter, and will charge a man without hesitation. 



The last day we were at the 'Nzoi the porters petitioned 

 for one ample meal of meat; and we shot a dozen buck 

 for them kongoni, kob, and singsing. One of the latter, 

 a very fine bull, fairly charged Kermit and his gun-bearer 

 when they got within a few yards of it, as it lay wounded. 

 This bull grunted loudly as he charged; the grunt of an 

 oryx under similar circumstances is almost a growl. On 

 this day both Kermit and I were led to bee trees by honey 

 birds and took some of the honey for lunch. Kermit stayed 

 after his boys had left the tree, so as to see exactly what 

 the honey bird did. The boys had smoked out the bees, 

 and when they left the tree was still smoking. Throughout 

 the process the honey bird had stayed quietly in a neigh- 

 boring tree, occasionally uttering a single bubbling cluck. 

 As soon as the boys left, it flew straight for the smoking 

 bee tree, uttering a long trill, utterly different from the 

 chattering noise made while trying to attract the attention 

 of the men and lead them to the tree; and not only did it 

 eat the grubs, but it also ate the bees that were stupefied 

 by the smoke. 



Next day we moved camp to the edge of a swamp about 

 five miles from the river. Near the tents was one of the 

 trees which, not knowing its real name, we called "sausage 

 tree" ; the seeds or fruits are encased in a kind of hard gourd, 

 the size of a giant sausage, which swings loosely at the end 

 of a long tendril. The swamp was half or three-quarters 

 of a mile across, with one or two ponds in the middle, from 

 which we shot ducks. Francolins delicious eating, as the 

 ducks were also uttered their grating calls near by; while 



