SENSATIONAL RIDING 



a little way behind, enjoying the comparatively cool 

 air and the beautiful scene. Suddenly two lesser 

 kudu, to my mind the most handsome of all antelopes, 

 dashed across the path, startled by the sounds of 

 the camels' bells, and were immediately lost to sight 

 in the bush. Otherwise an unbroken calm reigned 

 over this wilderness, into which I was the first white 

 man to penetrate. But soon it began to grow hot, 

 the dewdrops vanished, the sun disappeared behind 

 heavy storm-clouds and the beauty of the scene 

 vanished with it. 



Some two hours later, I entered a little clearing, 

 in which was situated a small Somali boma con- 

 sisting of ten huts of the usual type. The entire 

 population, male and female, old and young, came 

 out to see the "white man" — and this anxiety to 

 see me led to a somewhat humorous incident. For 

 my mule, which stands nearly fourteen hands, and was 

 very nervous, suddenly shied violently at a little 

 boy who was hiding behind a bush, and then bolted 

 towards a group of Somali standing near the village. 

 I was nearly thrown, but somehow managed to stick 

 on, and by sawing on his bit pulled the mule up 

 short after a most sensational piece of riding through 

 the scattered thorn-scrub. The expression on the 

 faces of the natives, and the chorus of astonished 

 "Allahs!" made me shake with laughter, as they 

 obviously thought I had made the mule do this for 

 their benefit, or else that it was my usual method of 

 travelling ! As a matter of fact, I do not know to 

 this day how I managed to stick on. 



After filling up the water-tanks, and shooting a 

 couple of guinea-fowl, I went on again, still through 

 the bush, indeed, but a bush quite different from what 



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