MIRAGE 



Later on I was given a very probable explanation 

 of this state of affairs by two Haweyah hunters that 

 I met near Marti, and who accompanied me for 

 some time as guides. They said that whenever 

 there was any surface water in the bush or in the 

 hills the game left the Lorian and scattered over 

 the country, where feed was good and plentiful, only 

 returning to the river when the " worrta " or rain-pans 

 dried up. At such times enormous herds of elephant, 

 buffalo and other smaller species of game collected 

 on the plains round the swamps. This would explain 

 the conflicting accounts of big-game hunters who 

 have from time to time found their way in the 

 western portions of the Lorian district. 



Having examined these remains, I proceeded 

 slowly onwards, for the heat was now very great, 

 and the mirage, if possible, even more accentuated. 

 Suddenly to my left, about a mile away, I saw a 

 herd of animals moving about. I was accompanied 

 by my orderly and skinner, both men born in the 

 wilds and accustomed from their earliest days to 

 seeing game of every kind, yet none of us could 

 decide what they were, so unreal and fantastic was 

 their appearance in the strange atmospheric conditions 

 that prevailed. What struck us as particularly odd 

 was that they seemed to be bathing in a shallow 

 lake, for now and again we saw a silver streak, as 

 though they were splashing in the water. So large 

 did they look, that I mistook them at first for buffalo, 

 but on approaching closer, I saw that they were only 

 waterbuck, and that the white we had observed was 

 caused by a number of egret, whose snowy plumage 

 flashed like silver as they rose, although they were 

 inconspicuous enough on the ground. 



215 



