6o A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA chap. 



were fastened the tails of beasts, or (most prized of all) 

 the mane of a lion slain with the spear. A few of the 

 men had ivory bangles, which denoted that an elephant 

 had been laid low by the wearer. After watering their 

 ponies, many of the people came and sat round, taking 

 the greatest interest in us and our belongings. Probably 

 not one of them had ever seen a white man before, and 

 they plied us with all sorts of questions. Among other 

 things, they asked why we wore boots, and were 

 astonished to hear that we had toes like theirs, and that 

 we were white all over. Next to our clothes, our rifles 

 and field-glasses interested them most. The smallness 

 of the bullet of my .256 made them sceptical of its killing 

 powers, and when the use of the telescopic sight was 

 explained, their wonder knew no bounds. Meanwhile 

 the caravan had been crossing the ford, which was 

 nearly a hundred yards wide, with the muddy water 

 waist-deep. Clarke was the first to wade over and have 

 a bathe from the far bank. I followed, and took some 

 snapshots of the others as they arrived. An hour's 

 journey brought us to the steep banks of the Cubanoar, 

 a tributary of the Hawash, a narrow, rather swift 

 stream, with a bad ford much obstructed with tree- 

 trunks. We had a good deal of difficulty in getting the 

 laden camels up the further bank. One beast fouled a 

 stump, and without more ado quietly sat down in mid- 

 stream, whence no amount of blows could make it 

 budge ; so, amid much shouting and swearing, a very 

 miscellaneous load had to be undone and carried ashore, 

 where it was at once repacked, while the refractory beast 

 was dragged and pushed up the bank. We camped a 



