98 SPORT IN ABYSSINIA. 



to breakfast, as it was getting hot. H. as well 

 had been out in the morning, and had seen a 

 large herd of Hagazin or koodoo, but could not get 

 near them. There was a very beautiful bird to be 

 seen in this jungle near the Mareb, in shape like an 

 English cuckoo, but of a very lovely light blue ; as 

 most of my readers will know the tint of Eton blue, 

 it was almost exactly that colour. We shot several 

 specimens, which Fisk preserved. I had seen, the 

 evening before, a pair of wild geese in a pool down 

 the river, so I went out to try and get a shot at them. 

 I told K. that I was going to shoot them both at 

 one shot if I could ; he said, " They are a great 

 deal too shy, you won't get near them." I went 

 down the river, when, lo, I saw my two friends 

 swimming about in a small pool. I fired at them with 

 my i6-bore No. i shot, killing the gander outright. 

 The goose flapped on a little way, and I thought I 

 had not got her, when Goubasee, who was with me, 

 rushed off down the river, having heard a faint cackle 

 in the distance, and came back with the goose in his 

 hand. It was very lucky that the bird made any 

 sound at all, as it was nearly pitch dark. I came back 

 to camp triumphantly with my two geese, and the 

 next evening we had them roasted and stuffed with 

 onions — they were excellent, and were among the 

 few things in Abyssinia that I had tasted really good. 



I 



