46 A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA chap. 



water was knee-deep. W., who followed me back to 

 camp, said that he had found his side of the reeds was a 

 high-road used by the flocks coming to water, so he had 

 struck further up the valley and then followed the tracks 

 of two waterbuck back to very near the place where the 

 buffalo had fed, and luckily had bagged them both. In 

 the afternoon the local headman came to see us, and 

 over a drink told us that this was the only place where 

 any buffalo were left. He added that they were very 

 shy, and only fed at night, and that so far no white man 

 had shot one. I feared that W. having shot the water- 

 buck on the edge of the reeds, and H. and his man 

 having been potting small birds all round camp, would 

 have put the buffalo on their guard, but as H. thought 

 no harm had been done, three of us went off in the 

 evening and sat at different points ; still nothing showed 

 itself I then climbed on to a platform I had caused to be 

 built in one of the trees in the glade. It was full moon, 

 so if anything had come my way I should have had a fair 

 chance. When I got back to camp for breakfast I found 

 that B.-had brought back an oryx, but had not seen a 

 single ostrich out of the dozens we had passed the day 

 before. We then had a great discussion as to how to 

 get at the buffalo. I wanted to give the place a couple 

 of days' rest and then try to stalk them, but H. decided 

 to drive them. Anyhow, I spent another night in the 

 tree, being almost eaten up by mosquitoes, which took 

 no account of either dogskin gloves or thick putties. 

 Soon after dark we heard the splashing of the buffalo 

 as they began to feed towards us, and I was in high 

 hopes, but suddenly they plunged off back to the centre 



