CHAPTER IX 



HUNTING IN JOREH 



The day after the dance had taken place, I left early 

 with two new guides supplied to me by the headman 

 of the village, who seemed confident that they could 

 show me Hunter's hartebeeste. We marched at first 

 through a kind of meadow-land with big trees here 

 and there, and when the sun had risen, but while 

 everything was still glittering with dew, we came 

 upon another Maghabul village, the last we were 

 to see for some time, as we were going into an 

 uninhabited country. There were many marabou 

 storks about, so tame that I had no difficulty in 

 walking close up to one and shooting it. These 

 hideous birds, who feed on all the offal from the 

 village, are only valuable because of the beautiful 

 feathers they carry under the tail. The latter are 

 worth about £\i an ounce, but, large though the 

 birds are, they only possess very few of the precious 

 feathers, and it would take six birds to yield one 

 ounce. At the sound of the gun three flocks of teal 

 rose from a pool which I had not noticed, and flew 

 over to another a short distance away. I managed to 

 bring down two as they passed overhead, and then, 

 as I needed food, I crept down to the edge of the 

 swamp, and, taking a pot-shot, killed four more as 

 they were swimming about. Two were skinned and 

 added to my bird collection, while the others I 

 decided to eat in due course. 



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