igS THE GAME OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA. 



his right, and so I ducked." No one would think him cowardly because he did not 

 stand up and receive the blow. However, there are a few tribes who have different 

 codes, and who consider it a great disgrace to show cowardice or to leave a companion 

 in the lurch. 



Amongst the coast porters there are many such men, and in any caravan of 

 professional porters I have had I have never found any difficulty in getting a man to 

 stand by me with a second rifle, and no doubt I could have found several such. If 

 one of these porters is supposed to have shown himself insufficiently staunch he is 

 unmercifully chaffed by his fellows for a long time afterwards. As, however, the men 

 are hopelessly weak in bushcraft, it generally happens that you have some raw native 

 guide with you who knows the locality thoroughly and can help in tracking and 

 finding game. When you have only one such with you it is as well to be entirely 

 independent of him when you approach a dangerous animal. On such occasions I 

 take in my pockets sufficient ammunition for an emergency, and the guide can then 

 make himself scarce up a tree with the rest of the porters, or do anything else he 

 likes without causing me inconvenience. 



Sometimes, though, amongst these raw savages are found very stalwart men, 

 who insist on standing by you, but it would be very unwise to assume that a man 

 is one of the exceptions to the rule until he has been absolutely proved. The 

 tribes that frequently turn out courageous men are the Sudanese, the Wanyamwezi, 

 Manyema, Swahili, Makoa, and Yao, all of which contain numbers of undoubtedly 

 staunch men, while the Somalis and Masai have often proved their bravery, especially 

 against lions. 



I have shot dangerous game with members of all these tribes, and I must say 

 that it is a very comforting feeling to have a man beside you upon whom you can 

 rely to hand you a big bore in the event of a rush from a wounded animal, or at 

 any rate to do something to help you in a mishap. 



However, in most cases of my bagging dangerous game, I have not had one 

 of these men with me. I have then found it best to trust entirely to a magazine 

 small bore, as with such a rifle you practically always have a cartridge ready, 

 whilst with a double bore you generally expend both cartridges either on the same 

 animal or in trying to secure a right and left, and then a critical delay takes 

 place whilst the gun is reloaded. 



For elephants I sometimes take the big bore from the man carrying it, when the 

 animals are located, and advance with a rifle in either hand, subsequently resting the 

 big bore against a bush whilst I fire with the small bore. However, this is rather a 

 wearying proceeding, especially if the animals are moving, and moreover, in thick 



